Mena Today

Syria has suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in violence that has swept the coastal region since Thursday.

Israel's suspension of goods entering Gaza is taking a toll on the Palestinian enclave, with some bakeries closing and food prices rising, while a cut in the electricity supply could deprive people of clean water, Palestinian officials said.

A Syrian military operation against loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad has been completed, the defence ministry said on Monday, after the heaviest fighting since former rebels seized power three months ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a day before talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials that Washington expects to deliver substantial progress towards ending the war with Russia.

Syria's leader vowed on Sunday to hunt down the perpetrators of violent clashes pitting loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country's new Islamist rulers and said he would hold to account anyone who overstepped their authority.

Iran would consider negotiations with the U.S. if the aim of the talks was to address concerns regarding any potential militarization of its nuclear program, Iran's U.N. mission said on Sunday in a post on X.

Israel's Defence Ministry said on Sunday it would let Syrian Druze workers enter the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory, without saying when the government would start issuing permits.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has urged European nations to “stop granting legitimacy” to Syria’s transitional government, following a series of massacres that have claimed hundreds of civilian lives. 

Qatar's prime minister has warned that an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would "entirely contaminate" the waters of the Gulf and threaten life in Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Saudi Arabia over March 10-12 for talks with Ukrainian counterparts, a statement from the U.S. Department of State said.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, arrived in Israel on Sunday for high-level meetings with Israeli officials as part of ongoing efforts to enhance security and stability along the Blue Line, the demarcation between Israel and Lebanon. 

Meetings between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days have focused on the release of an American-Israeli dual national being held by the militant group in Gaza, a senior Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday.